On Sat, 13 Jan 2001 00:05:40 -0500, "kilopascal" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >2001-01-12 > >If I am not mistaken, Monday (2001-01-15) is the day that Stephen Thoburn is >to appear in court. You're not mistaken, john - you've only to look at the top of the page at http://www.metric.org.uk to confirm this ;-) >To those in the know, will this trial be a one day >event, where Mr. Thoburn is either found guilty or innocent, or can this >linger on for months to come? In cases such as this, what is the usual >procedure? If Mr. Thoburn is found guilty, will he have the right to appeal >the verdict? If he does appeal, will that have any effect on the courts >decision? Naturally, if he is found guilty, it means the government is >within its right to confiscate and arrest traders violating the law. If he >demands an appeal, then the courts decision is moot as far as the traders in >rebellion are concerned. > >If he is found innocent, what will that do for law presently on the books? >Will it allow traders then to chose their units by which they sell by? Will >it undermine the WMA? I'm not a legal expert, so don't take mt word on this - Ian is much better placed to comment. As I understand, he can appeal. I believe this is what his lawyer wants, so it can go all the way to the House of Lords. (See the LA Times article at http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/20010112/t000003358.html) >I do feel that the BWMA and the UKIP will do what ever they can to drag this >though the courts for a long, long time. As long as there are appeals and >counter-appeals, keeping the system in confusion, then it gives the traders >both time and the feeling of victory. So, where does it end? You're quite right that they want the matter to drag on indefinitely. A 'guilty' verdict might still be useful, as it might send a signal to that minority of traders who are still doing nothing, and might just persuade them it's not worth the risk of carrying on. However, whether other TSDs (who've been holding back on prosecuting) would want to make any moves before an appeal is heard is uncertain. The Telegraph has a related story today: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=004151436739695&rtmo=kCoYkJxp&atmo=rrrrrrrq&pg=/et/01/1/13/ncoun13.html -- Chris KEENAN UK Metrication: http://www.metric.org.uk/ UK Correspondent, US Metric Association
